ZOMBEACHES

Writer: Joe Maranta

He wakes up, checks his phone and sighs. Half-past one on a Monday, another day wasted. The all too familiar feeling of dread ignites a flurry of goosebumps across his body, as he feels his heart sinking into an ever-growing internal pit.

Seeking a refuge from reality, he journeys into nature towards the rugged coastlines of Mornington Peninsula. As he enters the boardwalk, his mind swirls with the thoughts of how he’s being perceived by those he cares about. Already having come to terms with the road he’s chosen in life, he forgoes the familiarity of the coastal boardwalk in favour of a vantage point atop a cliff facing Port Phillip Bay.

Finding a flat area amongst the jagged earth, he lays down and lets his mind run free. Minutes turn to hours and the last of the dog walkers pass by as blue skies give way to a blood red sunset. In awe of the world’s beauty, his mind, if just for an evening, is at peace.

This is the feeling of Zombeaches newest album A Taste of Oxygen. 

The beloved post-punk quintet from Victoria's Mornington Peninsula have outdone themselves on their first project since 2020. The helter-skelter sound they’re known for is still brash as ever, though with a new sheen of harmonious melodies and introspective songwriting at a level not yet reached by the band. 

An album celebrating all corners of life, its themes of suicide, mortality and isolation are countered by antithetical themes of perseverance and determination. Led by James Young (Guitar & Vocals) and buoyed by Jay Gargaro (Rhythm guitar), Tony Clay (Bass guitar), Nick Kristic (Drums) and Dominique Garrard (Keys), Zombeaches second full-length album is a triumph of the band, regional music and post-punk as a genre.

JOE: Congratulations on the release of your Second full length Album. It’s been a month since you’ve released it, what’s the reception been like?

JAMES:  Yeah, it's been good. It's one of those weird things, you work on it for so long and then all of a sudden it's just out, it's a weird feeling that. You hold on to it for so many years working on it and then you put it out and a few mates are like, yeah, it's good. 

But the reception down here in Melbourne has been really good. The local community stations and the stations down here on the Peninsula, especially our local scene down here, everyone sort of gets around everyone when there's a new release which is great. 

JOE: The track which stuck with me most was definitely Forever Bright. Tell me about the production of that track, and how it came to fruition?

JAMES: I had the demo there for ages, it’s probably one of the older songs that’s been sitting on my computer. We weren't really sure how it was going to turn out, or if it would even make the album, but it just came out really good, it was a surprise for us I think. It’s a track I wrote predominantly on my own, but we’ve had trouble recreating it live since it was sort of all made on the spot - we can’t really remember what pedals it goes through, what setting the synth was on etc.  

JOE: What can you tell us behind the decision to juxtapose the melodies and lyrics of ‘Lung’

JAMES: That’s something we really tried to implement a lot on this record, especially with Dom’s backup vocals - it gives us beauty in our darker songs. On a lot of the darker songs we always try and have a message of hope you know? A message of like ‘it’s not all fucking doom and gloom’. Even when things are bad, I’m pretty fortunate in my life and what I get to do. So even when things are bad, there’s still hopefulness there.

JOE: How did growing up on the Peninsula influence the sound of Zombeaches?

JAMES: I think the main thing that influenced our sound was that when we started it was just myself, Nick and Jay. We didn’t know anyone else that wanted to play music. So we were all we had, we had to make something work you know, we just had to work with each other. It wasn’t til my 20s when I found out about the punk / alternative scene in Melbourne and Frankston. I think that was great though, it’s just constant learning and engaging, which has been good for us. 

JOE: Is there anything about this new record that you can point to as the outcome you’re most proud of?

JAMES: I'm super proud of this whole album really. I think the best thing is that it was a really pleasurable experience recording the album. It was just heaps of fun hanging out and playing together, especially after the two years of COVID and lockdowns before it and not really seeing each other. It felt like ‘oh everything's actually coming into place at the right time’. That's probably the proudest thing, that we've been able to continue as friends and continue as band mates, making music that we're really stoked on.

JOE: You’ve just finished your world tour of Melbourne Front Bars, if someone was going to their own tour of Melbourne pubs, where would you suggest?

JAMES: The Curtain is definitely my favourite pub in Melbourne, that and The Gem in Collingwood. Singing Bird studios in Frankston too is great. 

JOE: In a perfect world, if you could choose to support an act on an actual world tour, who would the band choose to support, and who would you all bring as your own support act?

JAMES: Supporting R.E.M on a reunion tour would definitely be something all of us would agree would be a dream. For our support act, I’d say The Belair Lip Bombs. They’ve just come back from Europe and things have just been blowing up for them which is great, they’re all just really great people.

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